Fifty years ago, the former Belgian Congo received its independence under the democratically elected government of former prime minister Patrice Lumumba. Less than seven months later, Lumumba and two colleagues were, in the contemporary idiom, "rendered" to their Belgian-backed secessionist enemies, who tortured them before putting them before a firing squad. The Congo would not hold another democratic election for 46 years. In 2002, following an extensive parliamentary inquiry, the Belgian government assumed a portion of responsibility for Lumumba's murder.

The Refugee Law Project (RLP), Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, in collaboration with the African Transitional Justice Research Network (ATJRN) has established an Institute for African Transitional Justice (IATJ). The institute is pleased to announce its first short course on African Transitional Justice. The course will take place in Kampala, Uganda from 21 – 27 November 2010. This week-long residential course will consist of a series of interactive lectures, workshops, and round table discussions focusing the theme “Addressing Transitional Justice in the Context of African Challenges”.

The Refugee Law Project seeks a Child Rights Lawyer to coordinate the Child Rights and Protection Programme. S/he should be an advocate of the High court of Uganda and must be conversant with the international, regional and national mechanism for the protection of children. Masters Degree in Human Rights is desirable.

Information for Change 2010: a free workshop in Nairobi linked to the Nairobi Book Fair

Title: Digital Publishing in Africa: The Next Steps

Date: 21 September 2010: 09.00 - 16.30

Location: Jacaranda Conference Centre, Jacaranda Hotel, Westlands, Nairobi

In July 2009 the first undersea cable to bring high-speed internet access to East Africa went live, opening up new opportunities for digital publishing in the region.

Information for Change 2010 will examine emerging digital publishing models in East Africa. Speakers will present first-hand experience of the realities of working in the region, and will showcase and share innovative approaches to the creation and delivery of information. The programme will include a keynote address, a speaker-led panel session, two World Café sharing sessions, case studies presentations, a venue for participants to display materials, and a moderated interactive session that will involve all participants.

A buffet lunch is included in the programme.

To register, go to click on Registration on the left hand navigation, and complete the form.

Wellcome Trust is accepting applications for the International Engagement Awards for global health research. A wide range of people including media professionals, educators, science communicators, health professionals and researchers in bioscience, health, bioethics and history can apply for these awards, which offer grants of up to £30,000 for a period of maximum three years.

Sokwanele is launching an online Constitution survey that aims to gather views from Zimbabweans everywhere, including the millions of Zimbabweans who live in the Diaspora and who have been largely excluded from the constitution-making process. he constitution survey features a mix of questions. Some questions directly address content usually included in a constitution, while others seek to survey opinions on issues of concern to Zimbabweans. These issues, and Zimbabwean opinions on them, should guide those who are tasked to draft the new document and our views should be honoured in the detail making up a new constitution.

Kenyans have overwhelmingly voted in a new constitution, which would redefine the political landscape and make it easy to send a sitting President to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face trial for crimes, including genocide, as part of the East African nation's range of law reforms. Kenya's draft constitution easily sailed through during the 4 August vote, with the provisional poll results Thursday showing at least 67.9 percent of the voters had given it their approval, against 33 percent of the voters who opposed the draft law.

We are now in August, that special month set aside to celebrate the achievements of women in South Africa. But I'm not so sure we should be pouring champagne just yet. It is also during this month that we commemorate the day on which 20,000 women marched on the Pretoria Union Buildings 54 years ago to protest the extension of passes restricting freedom of movement during the apartheid government.

Gender is far more dynamic and variable than most understand, writes Ken Rhode, while Lindsay highlights that some transgender women/men may actually identify as men or women rather than as transgender.

AfricaAdapt is launching its second Knowledge Sharing Innovation Fund. The Fund offers support to African researchers, local and civil society organisations, cooperatives and community networks that create new ways of sharing knowledge between African communities. These poor and vulnerable communities rarely get the opportunity to share their valuable experience and learn from others in formal exchanges of knowledge on climate change adaptation.

In this book, Patrick Beate and Daminan Platt write about AfroReggae, a movement that uses music and culture to provide hope and opportunity to young people, and is taking Brazil's favelas back - one song at a time. Powerful and moving, this is an unforgettable look at Rio, its people and this extraordinary group. What emerges is a colourful portrait of resistance, ethnic diversity, social inequality, and the timeless power of music in a society of fascinating, often heartrending extremes

Of the 1,200 children of migrant workers slated for deportation in 2009, the Israeli Cabinet on 1 August granted legal status to 800 and said 400 would be deported with their families to their parents’ country of origin within 21 days. To win legal status, the children had to have enrolled in the Israeli school system, resided in Israel at least five years, entered Israel before the age of 13 or be born there, and speak fluent Hebrew.

The United Nations spokesperson has said that the restrictions recently announced by the Sudanese government on the movement of personnel from the African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID) violates previous accords signed between both sides. Last week, a senior Sudanese official told Reuters that UNAMID travel would be monitored going forward and that their bags will be searched. They will have to inform the government before moving on roads even within South Darfur’s capital Nyala, he said.

The Refugee Law Project seeks a Child Rights Officer to be responsible for the psychosocial component of the Child Rights and Protection Programme. S/he must be a trained social worker or counsellor with considerable experience working with Children.

In this week's roundup of merging powers news, the new Silk Road built by China connects Asia to Latin America, more SA businesses want a piece of BRIC, Ecobank Ghana signs pact with Bank Of China, and Durban to host Africa diaspora conference.

Researchers from the University of California Berkeley’s Human Rights Center canvassed nearly 2,000 households in the Central African Republic to document the impact of violence in the country and gather opinions about the best way forward. The results present a stark picture of a population traumatized by decades of political strife, military coups and poverty; leading the researchers to conclude the country is one of the worst cases of a humanitarian crisis in the world.

Assaults on MDC officials and supporters intensified in the Chipinge area of Manicaland on Wednesday and Thursday, as ZANU PF continued its campaign of violence linked to the Constitutional outreach program. Provincial spokesperson and Makoni South MP, Pishayi Muchauraya, told SW Radio Africa that two MDC officials sustained broken limbs and MDC vehicles were attacked and vandalized by youth militia and CIO agents in separate attacks.

South African telcommunications company MTN has been warned by the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), an opposition group close to the South African trade union federation Cosatu, that it could face a mass boycott from Africans concerned about its bowing to demands from the Swazi royal family to investigate phone calls to South African journalists from inside the country.

As we commemorate South Africa National Women's Day, Gender Links spoke to ordinary women about the challenges they face every day. In an accompanying story, Doreen Gaura writes that the link between many women's organisations and the realities of women's every day lived experience has become tenous. She spoke to women from informal settlements about the issues that matter to them. This photo essay documents their conversation.

Fahamu Refugee Programme & UNHRC invites lawyers and legal advisors to a course aimed at arming them with the information, networks and resources they require to represent those accused of witchcraft. Participants will learn how to best represent those whose claims to asylum are based upon accusations of witchcraft, an emerging area of refugee law in which there is a need for specialised knowledge and training.

4-5 September 2010
Oxford, United Kingdom
Registration fee: £150
If you would like to attend, please submit a completed to Fahamu by 21 August 2010.